For a typical semi-detached house, a full roof replacement runs one to two weeks from scaffold up to scaffold down. Larger, steeper or more complicated roofs take longer; a straightforward garage takes days. Here's where the time actually goes.
The sequence
Scaffold goes up first — typically a day, often arranged a few days ahead of the roofing crew. Stripping the old covering takes a day or two; crucially it happens in sections, with each section felted weathertight before the day ends, so the roof is never open overnight. Timber checks and repairs happen as each section is exposed — an hour if all is well, longer where rot is found. Membrane and battens go on quickly. The new covering is the visible bulk of the job: interlocking tiles cover fast, small plain tiles and individually nailed slates take substantially longer for the same roof. Details — ridge, verges, valleys, flashings — are the craft hours that decide how the roof performs, and rushing them is where cheap jobs go wrong. Then clearance and scaffold down.
What stretches the schedule
Weather, honestly handled — showers pause work rather than ruin it (the roof is always weathertight), but sustained wind or rain costs days, and we won't strip ahead of weather we can't beat. Hidden timber problems add time where they're found. Complexity — dormers, valleys, chimneys — adds detail hours. And slate always takes longer than tile: it's laid piece by piece, by hand.
Living under the work
You stay home throughout — the work is entirely external. Expect noise from stripping days, dust in the loft (sheet over stored items), and a garden hosting a skip and materials. Good crews leave the site tidy nightly; it's a fair thing to ask any roofer about before booking. For the full process from quotation to photographic sign-off, see how we work — and for the money side, what a new roof costs.